Stained Glass Primer

If you want to assemble simple windows, first marke out the dimensions
of the length and breadth on a wooden board, then draw scrollwork or anything
else that pleases you, and select the colors that are to be put in. Cut
the glass and fit the pieces together with the glazing iron. Enclose
them with lead cames; putting in the nails, and solder on both
sides. Surround it with a wooden frame strengthened with nails and set
it up in the place where you wish.

Introduction

Few home decorating flourishes are as elegant as the addition of a custom stained
glass window. The manipulation of light into a living picture via colored
glass windows has fascinated people since it was introduced in the early Middle
Ages. The Germanmonk Theophilus wrote detailed descriptions of the techniques
of stained glass in the early twelfth century, and in many respects this ancientart hasn't changed substantially since then.

What may come as a surprise to many however is that it is relatively easy to
create simple stained glass windows that will brighten your environment and
impress your friends. This article provides a step by step cookbook for
building your first stained glass window, a beveled glass suncatcher. I'll
describe the tools, materials
and skills you'll need to complete the project, and then lead you through the
process of assembly.

The glass project is carefully tailored to produce a nice product with an
absolute minimum of materials, tools and skill. To lower the
bar to rock bottom, we will make use of pre-cut glass bevels and avoid the joys
of glass cutting entirely. This project uses copper foil to encase the
glass rather than the lead channel (called "came") common in
traditional glasswork. In describing the production steps, I will
cover all the basic techniques, even those that aren't needed to complete this
simple project.

Veteran glass crafters may, justifiably, scoff at the many important aspects
of stained glass creation that aren't demonstrated here. In response, I'd
only say that this project has been used to introduce neophytes to
stained glass successfully. Many of these beginners (myself included) have gone
on to more ambitious projects and developed a long-lasting love and appreciation
of the art. The intention here is to guide a novice to finishing an
attractive small project and hopefully gaining some appreciation, understanding
and skill in the process.

Like any activity involving contact with things that are sharp, hot or
poisonous, basic common sense and good judgment is required to do glasswork
safely. In those areas where some specific or non-intuitive safety concern exists, I'll point it
out and suggest appropriate precautions. In this, as in all
things, know
where you are and don't be a fool.

Purchasing tools and materials2

Below you will find a list of the tools and materials you'll need to complete this
project. Since this is a beginner project, I'd encourage you to make do
with what you have or can scrounge up. If you find you enjoy creating
stained glass, you will soon enough find your way to a glassworkers supply house
where you'll be presented with a myriad of goodies to choose from.

The list below provides specific brand names and approximate prices, for your
convenience, but there may be substitutes for any item on the list that are equally capable and represent better value
for your money. So shop around if you like. I've also provided part numbers, where possible, from Glass Crafters, a
popular mail order supply house. All prices below are in U.S. Dollars.

60/40 Canfield Solder, one pound. The first number is the percentage
of lead, the second number the percentage of tin. 60/40 has a lower
melting point than the more common 50/50, so it's a little easier to work
with. $6.50. #C6040

Selecting a design

I'm going to provide you with a simple but attractive pattern to use for this
project, but the options are endless. Thousands of patterns are available
commercially from stained glass supply houses, and your local library.
I've seen patterns that span the gamut of subject matter from heavy metal to
Bambi. My advice is simply seek and ye shall find. After you finish this first project,
you may even want to create your own design for a custom window. That's a
great idea, as long as you avoid a few common pitfalls.

Here are some guidelines for what works well and what doesn't, when it comes
to stained glass designs.

Geometric designs are easier to build than organic or free flowing
ones.

Curves are significantly more difficult than straight lines to
cut.

Smaller designs are easier to build successfully than larger ones.
Not only are there less pieces in a smaller window, but beyond a certain
size, you need to consider reinforcing the window to make it structurally
sound.

The next few sections provide some general information on the materials,
tools and skills of stained glass work. If you want to skip directly to
the assembly instructions for the sample project, look for the Stained glass
assembly section below to pick up the thread.

Choosing glass

Selecting glass for your project is one of the most enjoyable parts of making
stained glass. There
are so many colors and textures to choose from that it boggles the mind.
It's easy to spend hours and lots of money in the glass store, so try to stay
focused on purchasing glass for the project at hand rather than every sparkly bauble you cross paths with. Our starter project only uses pre-cut bevels
and colored glass blobs called nuggets, so it doesn't even begin to scratch the
surface of the types and colors available. The next few sections provide
some background information on the glass used in stained glass work.

The general category of glass used to make stained glass is called art glass. Art glass is made by heating a combination of sand, silica, soda
ash, lime and metal oxides such as chromium or cobalt, to very high
temperatures to make a molten mixture. Once the glass has been formed into a sheet, it is cooled slowly
to improve its handling characteristics and make it less brittle. This
process of controlled cooling is called annealing.

Three methods are commonly used to create sheets of glass from the
molten glass mixture.

Blown or Antique glass sheets are formed by gathering a glob
of molten glass on the end of a long metal pipe then blowing the glass into
a cylinder. The cylinder is formed into a sheet by cutting off its two
ends, then cutting along its length and flattening it against a metal
plate. "Full antique" glass is mouth-blown glass that
varies in thickness and texture and commonly includes imperfections, such as
air bubbles, within it. Full antique glass typically has irregular surface textures. Semi-antique
glass uses more tightly controlled processes such as machine-blowing, to
produce a more uniform color and texture.

Drawn glass is made by pulling the molten glass
vertically through non-flammable blocks to form long sheets.

Rolled glass is made by rolling a blob of molten glass out
into a flat sheet. Rolling variations include hand and machine techniques as
well as the addition of swirling molten glass of another colors together
prior to rolling them out into a sheet.

Regardless of the way it has been manufactured, art glass is commonly divided
into two main classes: cathedrals and opalescents. Cathedral glass is generally
transparent and are selected based on their ability to transmit
light. Opalescent glass is typically milky and only semi-translucent. The color and
transparency of opalescent glass is
determined by the addition of materials into the molten glass that cause it to crystallize
to some extent. Opalescent glass is often used in lampshades because it commonly
reflects more light than it absorbs. They vary in thickness depending on
their texture, and also vary greatly in how difficult it is to cut them.

Within these general categories there is an almost endless variety of colors
textures and pre-formed shapes of glass. Here are some types of glass that
you will likely find at a well-stocked supply house:

Crackle glass is a translucent full antique glass that is
highly textured with a scally pattern on one or both sides. The
texture is created by dipping the hot cylinder of blown glass in water prior
to forming the sheet.

Drapery glass is a hand-rolled glass distinguished by its
folded surface texture.

Flashed glass is a full-antique glass created by dipping a
thick "base" sheet of glass into another color of glass so that a
thin layer of the second color is fused with the first. Flashed glass
is sometimes sandblasted7 or etched to create interesting two-tone
effects. Flashed glass should always be scored on the thicker base
side when it is cut.

Glue chip glass is created by sandblasting cathedral glass,
then applying hot animal-hide glue to the surface. The result is a
series of patterns in the glass that resemble frost ribbons on a frozen
window pane.

Iridescent glass is coated with a thin layer of metallic
oxides that gives it a rainbow sheen like oil on water.

Seedy glass is a cathedral that contains small bubbles that
catch and reflect the light oddly.

Streaky glass is made by mixing several colors of glass
without blending them completely.

Reamy glass is an antique that is very heavily textured and
usually contains large irregular bubbles.

Nuggets are irregularly shaped glass blobs formed by dripping
molten glass on a steel plate. The tops are curved and the bottoms are
flat.

Jewels are cast glass pieces that resemble multi-faceted cut gems.

Rondels are flat disks of glass up to several inches in
diameter. Rondels may be formed from flattened bubbles of glass from
the end of the blowpipe, or by globs of glass flattened by a machine.

Glassworking tools8,9

Many of the tools used for glasswork look familiar, but in some cases they
are highly specialized and designed to perform a single unique function. The sections below describe the major glass working tools in a little more
detail.

Glass cutters come in many shapes and sizes these days, but the basic
principle is the same in all of them: a small, hardened-steel, wheel is rolled
against the glass, "scoring" it and creating the tiny fissure along
which we hope it will break. The most common type of glass cutter is
shaped like a small wand with the cutting wheel at the bottom and, sometimes, a
small ball at the top. The ball is used to tap along the score line to initiate
the break. Another popular style of glass cutter is the pistol grip, a
cutter with a handle that holds the cutting wheel at a comfortable angle
allowing you to bear down hard while still controlling the cut. Either
type may be self-lubricating via a reservoir built into the handle that oozes a
little oil as the cutting wheel turns. Another option is the swiveling head, a pivot point just behind the cutting head that allows the head to turn a limited
amount on either side of straight ahead. This is intended to help you
guide the head through tight curves. Some people like it, some don't.

Selecting a glass cutter is a very personal thing, and many serious artisans
have several of them. My own favorite combination is a pistol grip,
self-lubricating swivel head. They are inexpensive enough that you'll
probably end up with several if you get serious about stained glass.

Next to glass cutters, pliers are probably the most important tool in glass
work. There are several general types and a selection of specific models to
choose from:

Grozing pliers. These specialized pliers are used to nibble away at glass that has been cut
to a rough shape. Grozing plier selection mostly involves choosing
a jaw width. More recently, combination grozing / breaking pliers have
become available but it's not clear that the savings in cost merit the
compromise in function.

Running pliers. These pliers are used to break glass that has already been scored with the
glass cutter. This is called "running a score". The jaws are formed
with one concave and one convex jaw so that they can apply pressure directly
on the score line. Running pliers come in wide and narrow jaws.
They are so useful, you'll probably want one of each. Look for a model
with a mark on the upper jaw that helps you line up with the score.

Breaking pliers. These are square-tipped, flat-jawed pliers that are used to firmly grip the
piece to be broken on one side of the score. The other side is supported along
a table edge, or held by hand, then the breaking pliers are used to snap the
score, completing the cut. Breaking pliers come in wide and narrow jaw
models. Get one of each.

Slip-joint & needlenose pliers. These are the common household pliers found in most any toolbox. They
come in handy for stretching lead, holding pieces together when soldering,
bending copper wire for hooks etc. Needlenose pliers usually have wire cutting
jaws that can come in handy for cutting wire for loops and hooks.

Lead cutting pliers. Lead loppers, have narrow sharp jaws that are flat on one side and concave
on the other, allowing them to slice cleanly through pieces of lead came
without crushing it. They come in small, medium and large sizes.

Diamond glass grinders come in a wide range of styles and prices. All
of them have a cutting head impregnated with industrial diamonds, a work table
and some system of water lubrication to cool the cutting area and keep the glass
dust out of the air. Pricing ranges from around $75 for an entry level
grinder to over $200 for a heavy duty professional model. Some features to
compare include the size and duty cycle of the motor, the size of the work table
and what cutting heads and accessories are included. A very nice feature
is a foot switch, allowing you to turn the grinder on and off without taking
your hands off the glass.

Preparing the pattern and layout

Our sample project uses pre-cut pieces, and the pattern serves simply as a
guide to assembly, but the first step in most stained glass projects is to
prepare the pattern. I'm going to describe the process as a reference for your
future projects. Whether you purchase a commercial glass pattern, or create your
own, the steps in getting it ready for use will be similar. The goal is to
resize the pattern to fit your required final dimensions, then transfer it onto
three full-sized paper copies. One of the copies will be used as a map on which
the cut pieces are placed for assembly. The second copy will be cut up to
provide patterns for each of the pieces to be cut. The third copy should
be filed away for future use.

With the wide availability of scanners, large format printers and image
processing software there are many possible ways to accomplish the goals.
Some possibly non-intuitive considerations are:

If you are sizing your window to fit tightly in an existing space, don't
forget to leave room for the thickness of the exterior lead came or foil
around your window.

Print your final working patterns on heavy, high-quality paper.
During the construction of your window they will inevitably come in for some
abuse.

Number each piece in the pattern before cutting. Some people like to
use both a unique piece number and a code indicating the color of glass to
be used for the piece.

If you are working with lead came, you must cut the pattern out so as to
compensate for the thickness of the came "heart." This is
usually accomplished using special pattern shears that have two blades
positioned just the right distance apart. Some commercial patterns
come with two cutlines shown, allowing you to simply cut away the unwanted
waste.

Once all the pattern pieces have been cut, you can lay them out on your glass
so that the waste is minimized and the texture and colors in the glass are best
matched. At this point, you are ready to cut the glass pieces.

Cutting, grozing and grinding

Cutting glass is intimidating and non-intuitive at first, but with a bit of
practice, you'll soon get the hang of it. The first thing you'll learn is
that you aren't actually cutting the glass at all. What you are doing is
creating a microscopicfracture line in the crystalline structure of the glass
along which it will fail when pressure is applied. Sometimes. The
second thing you learn is that glass, especially art glass, has a mind of its own
and that only long and occasionally frustrating practice will allow you to
develop a feel for it. "Be the glass!"

In most cases, the cut you make with the glass cutter won't be exactly where
you want it. This is particularly true when the shape you are attempting
to make contains deep curves. Glass cutters work best on straight lines.
Curves are made by making successive small cuts. Concave shapes are
particularly challenging, and deep concave cuts are almost impossible to create
using a glass cutter alone. Grozing and grinding take over where the glass
cutter leaves off.

Grozing is a technique that uses special grozing pliers to nibble away at a
piece of glass successively crushing and grinding away the waste to produce the correct
shape. Glass grinders have a flat table with an
industrial diamond-coated grinding
head, or spindle, sticking up vertically in the middle. Beneath the table is an
electric motor that rotates the spindle. A rough cut piece of glass is pressed
against the rotating spindle allowing it to be ground to a desired shape very
accurately. Although stained glass has been assembled for generations
without the benefit of the modern grinder, it is probably the single most
important innovation.

Stained glass assembly

Once the glass pieces for the project have been cut and ground or grozed to
their final shape, it's time to assemble the window. There are two main
methods of stained glass construction: lead came and copper foil. Lead
came is the older and more traditional technique. It involves cutting
pre-formed lead channels, called "came" to hold the glass pieces
comprising the window, then laying out the entire window with the glass inserted
into the came and soldering the cames together, sealing the glass inside.
Lead came comes in two basic shapes, "H," which holds a piece of glass
on either side and is used for the interior portions of the window, and
"U," which holds a single piece of glass and is used to form the
exterior frame of the window. The exterior face of lead came can be either flat
or rounded.

Copper foil construction was developed in the late 1800's as a way to
accommodate the complex and highly curved forms of the Art Nouveau period.
The copper foil technique is also called Tiffany-style after the legendary
stained glass craftsmen Louis Comfort Tiffany10. Rather than cutting and
shaping lead came, the copper foil method involves wrapping the edge of each
piece of glass with a narrow ribbon of copper that has a light adhesive on one
side. The foil is then burnished to fit
tightly around the piece and form a base for soldering the pieces together.

Remember the sample project?

Copper foiling is a natural choice for a beginning glass craftsman since it
involves fewer materials and tools as well as less skill to achieve success.
Since all the pieces in our sample project were pre-cut and pre-burnished, this
is where we start the actual process of building our beveled glass snowflake.

Gather up the roll of copper foil, the scissors, your glass pieces and a
credit card together.

Peel the paper backing off the back of the copper foil for a few
inches. Now wrap it carefully around the entire edge of a beveled glass
diamond, pressing it as you go and being careful to keep it centered on the
glass. Continue until you have an overlap of a quarter inch, then cut the
piece free of the foil roll. Now use the adhesive on the foil to stick the
foil to the glass by bending the foil over and forming it to the shape of the
glass. Take the credit card and use it to press the foil tightly onto the
glass on all sides and edges. This step is called burnishing.

Now repeat that step for each of the other pieces in the project. When
you wrap the glass nuggets, just try to find the approximate middle of the
glob. You should end up with a pile of pretty glass bits with bright
copper edges.

Plug the soldering iron in and, while it heats, lay out the six beveled glass
diamonds according to the snowflake pattern provided above. The pieces should
fit together pretty tightly, but if there are small gaps don't worry about it
too much. Get the sponge wet then wring out all the excess water. Open the
liquid flux and get the flux brush and roll of solder. You should
be working in a well ventilated area, on a hard surface that can withstand a little
heat. Put on your safety
glasses and gloves and get ready to rumble, soldering is fun.

Tacking the pieces together

First we will tack solder the pieces together to hold them in position. To
test if the soldering iron is hot enough, touch the end of the solder to the
shiny tip of the iron. If it's ready, the solder will melt immediately
when it touches the tip. If it doesn't, count backwards from 100 and then
try again. Once the iron is up to temperature, wipe the tip gently against
the moist sponge. This should clean the tip and make it bright and
shiny. You'll want to repeat this periodically as you work to get the best
heat transfer.

Dip the flux brush into the flux, shake off the excess and then apply a thin
coat to the center joint in your snowflake. Touch the tip of the iron to
the solder to pick up a small drip, then press the flat tip of the soldering iron
down firmly onto the center joint and wait for a second or so until the flux
stops sizzling, the joint gets hot and the solder flows down into the
joint. Add a little more solder if needed to get all the corners nice and
juicy, the remove the soldering iron and let the joint cool. This should
hold the six diamonds of the snowflake in place while you continue tack
soldering the other pieces together.

Now position the glass nuggets in the angles of the snowflake as
shown in the pattern. Since the nuggets are rounded, and the diamonds are
straight, they will only meet at two points and that's where we'll do the
soldering. Brush both places where the nugget touches the diamond with
flux, then get a little blob of solder on the tip of the iron and press it down
into the crack. You can use the needlenose pliers to snug the nugget up
against the diamond if necessary, because you want the gap as tight as
possible. Once you've tacked one of the points, get another dab of solder
on the iron and do the other one. Repeat these steps for all four of the
nuggets.

Running a bead

Now that the pieces of the snowflake have all been tack soldered into
position, we'll go back and finish the job by soldering all the seams.
This is a two step process: first you'll apply solder along the length of the
seam, then you'll go back over the seam, heating it evenly to form a smooth
bead. When the soldering iron is hot and freshly cleaned on the damp sponge, use
the flux brush to apply a small amount of flux along the length of a seam.
Hold the iron in one hand and the roll of solder in the other. Now melt
about a quarter inch of solder onto the tip of the iron then press it down on
the seam, as the solder melts, beneath the iron, add a bit more to the top of
the iron's tip and begin to move slowly down the length of the seam. The
goal is to apply a consistent bead of solder down the entire seam that nicely
covers the copper foil and fills the seam completely. This takes a bit of
practice, but it isn't difficult. It's actually pretty fun once you get
the hang of it. When you've soldered the entire seam, run the iron down
its length once more to even out all any lumps or ridges, the pick the iron's
tip straight up at the end so as to leave a clean bead. If you've done
this step correctly, the solder should seek its own level before solidifying
into a beautiful and uniform bead.

Solder all the seams of the snowflake on one side, then turn it over and
solder all the seams on that side in the same manner. Finish soldering the
nuggets into place on both sides, filling the gap between the nugget and the
side of the beveled diamond. To finish soldering the snowflake, we'll cold solder the edges to
create a solid border around the piece. Use the flux brush to apply a thin
layer of flux around the entire outside edge of the piece. Now, holding
the piece in one hand, pick up a small daub of solder on the tip of the iron and
begin to work your way around the edge of the snowflake, keeping the edge you
are currently working on horizontal as you apply the solder. The idea here is to
just apply a thin layer of solder, not to build up a bead. When you come
to the nuggets, just work your way right around them, integrating them into the
outline of the piece. When you've finished with the edge of the snowflake,
solder the copper foil around the edge of the teardropjewel the same way.

Hooks and eyes

To finish up the project, we need to attach the teardrop jewel to the rest of
the snowflake, and add an eye to the top of the snowflake for hanging.
We'll use the copper wire for both of these tasks, first forming the wire into the
proper shape, then soldering it into place. Make the eye for the top of
the piece using the needlenose pliers to shape generous "U" shape in
the middle of a one inch piece of wire. Using the pliers, shape the legs of
the eye to match the angle of the top point of the snowflake. The result should
look like the letter "U" with two legs coming off the top at the same
angle as the top of your snowflake. Adjust the angle of the legs until
they fits snugly against the pointy top of your snowflake. Apply a little
flux to this piece then solder it to the top of the piece.

Make two more eyes as described above and solder one to the bottom of the
snowflake. Form the second eye so that it fits nicely around the pointy end of
the teardrop jewel. Now, hold the eye with the pliers and twist the legs
90 degrees. This will cause the jewel to lay along the same plane as the rest of
the snowflake. Hook the last eye through the bottom eye on the snowflake
then solder the legs to the teardrop jewel. Be careful not to solder the
two eyes together.

You should remove the acid flux residue from the piece as soon as possible
after soldering. Fill a non-food container with water, then add
dishwashing soap and a handful of bicarbonate of soda to neutralize the
acid. If you have an old toothbrush, use it to scrub the piece
thoroughly. Once the piece is clean, dry it with a clean soft rag.

Cleanup and applying patina

Patina is used to change the color of the soldered seams to a copper
color that will weather and darken with time. Patina is commonly available
in copper and black. This step is optional, and
if you prefer the bright silver color of the soldered seams you can skip
it. Using a clean flux brush, or a clean rag, apply the patina to the
soldered seams. The color of the seams should begin to change almost
immediately. As soon as you have finished one side, flip the piece over
and apply patina to the other side. When you finish both sides, wash the
entire piece again with the dishwashing soap & bicarbonate solution.

Congratulations, you're finished!

===================&===================

The research for this piece was performed entirely using books! As
unlikely as that may sound, it is still possible to derive information from the
printed page for use in the creation of serviceable prose. Prepared for the Everything2 Support Your Local Library
Quest.

Resources

Special Bonus Appendix

Here's a custom pattern I've adapted for your use as an advanced
project that leverages the skills you have acquired.
There are a bunch of pieces in this one, arguably too many for a second project, but they are
all easy to cut. If it seems like too much, pick a section of the piece
and make that first, then add to it if you like the results.

This design makes a pleasantly abstract panel that is easily scalable for any
rectangular window size.

A wide variety of color schemes should work, but the one provided here will
produce a nice art-deco look.